Kill Me
by llPainll
Summary: the nine tails sealed inside naruto has broken the seal and broken out. then it's found out that it can't be sealed again and can only be killed... by killing naruto. rated for bloodshed and deaths
1. Naruto's little fox problem

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**Naruto's little fox problem**

The sun slowly sneaked up from behind the horizon. Its light slowly turned the sky a light blue from its inky black. The rays of light fell upon the mountain with five faces which towered over the little village in its shadow. The streets were all deserted and all the lights were still off in all the houses even as dawn fell upon the village.

Soon, the sun was high enough in the sky to throw light uon the village from behind the mountain. The street was already bustling as people walked up and down it. The commotion was still not enough though, to beat down the wind and birds. However, if the commotion in one particular street was there in all of them, then the wind and birds would have to go somewhere else.

'Yeah! It's me, Naruto Uzumaki of to his first mission of the day!' and the boy went walking up the street as though he was the cheif of the village. As he walked by the people who were glaring at his loudness, he noticed that there was something different about the day. The sunlight was slowly fading as dark clouds from nowhere appeared and the wind had given up blowing. There were less people too, in the streets. The lights were lit all over as the day almost became night. However, storms without wind wasn't going to stop him from his mission. He stomped all the way up to their usual meeting bridge.

'Good morning Sakura-chan, good morning Sas--' and Naruto stopped in mid sentence. Both Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other and looked away. They waited for about half an hour and then, late as usual, Kakashi turned up.

'What's with you , Kakashi-sensei! Don't tell us you were lost again!' Naruto shook his fist at Kakashi.

'Well I was at the--'

'You don't have to tell us.' said Naruto, glaring at him.

'Well, anyway, I just got today's mission from-- Naruto! Something wrong?' Kakashi asked, jumping forward as Naruto had suddenly collapsed on the ground, twisting with what was clearly great pain. Then he suddenly stopped and lay still as a corpse. But he was still breathing.

'Just unconcious. What happened to him?' Sasuke asked Kakashi afte checking Naruto. But Kakashi didn't answer. He was staring at the seal on Naruto's stomach which was visible from under his shirt.

'What's wrong, Kakashi sensei?' Sakura asked. Kakashi went down on his knees in front of Naruto and brought him to a sitting position. He lifted his shirt enough to see the seal in its entirety, except that it wasn't as entire as it was before. Many parts of the seal were missing. This definitely wasn't good news, Kakashi told himself.

'What the-- what's happening to the seal?' Sasuke asked, staring at it too.

'It was already weakening after all that training with Jiraiya-sama. The Kyuubi must have found some way to break through it or maybe the seal was getting weaker as Naruto started to rely too much on it's Chakra. If this keeps up, we'll find ourselves facing the Kyuubi once again. And there isn't anybody as brave or great as the 4th Hokage-sama anymore.' Kakashi said.

'Yeah, but there'll be somebody who'll be able to seal it this time, won't there?' Sakura asked.

'Yeah, but what if we can't seal it again?' Sasuke asked.

'How can that be? If you've done it once--'

'You might not be able to do it again because it'll be aware of it this time and'll be careful.' Kakashi said. 'Anyway, you two just watch over Naruto. I'll go to Tsunade-sama and tell her about this. I'll be back soon. Stay here and don't take Naruto anywhere. We've got to be careful. Oh yeah, and don't tell Naruto about the seal yet.' and he disappeared.

'Could the weather have something to do with this, Sasuke-kun?' Sakura asked, staring at the sky.

'Dunno...' he replied staring at Naruto. If the seal disappeared, what were they supposed to do? And just then, Kakashi already arrived with Tsunade. She went upto Naruto and stared at the seal.

'It really is weakening. We still can't afford to let it break loose.'

'Duh.' said Sasuke silently, rolling his eyes.

'So, what're we supposed to do?'

'We'll keep him under watch. Take him back to his house, Kakashi, and watch over him for the day. I'll send someone over for the night. Meet me then.' and she disappeared.

'What's with the hurry?' Sasuke asked.

'Sorry, guys, I gotta go. There'll be no missions for a while.' and he grabbed Naruto and disappeared.

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A/N: sorry for the shortness, but i've gotta shut down and do my homework now, so then next chapter'll be longer as it'll have what was supposed to be the end of this chapter. so review please and about the deleting and rewriting, i'm talking in the next chap for the old readers.

Kai Hiwatari II


	2. The Dream

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**Thanks for the reviews!**

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**The Dream**

Kakashi sat there at the window, staring at the blood-red sun sinking. He turned back and saw that Naruto still hadn't woken up. He was really sick of sitting there and doing nothing. And Tsunade had said that she'd send someone along around night. Either she'd forgotten or he didn't know the address. He turned back towards the sun when he heard a growling behind him. He didn't turn around. He listned patiently and heard it again. It didn't sound like a dog's growling or anything. He turned around slowly and cautiously, as though expecting some kind of monster there. But there wasn't anything and the growling was still continueing. It was impossible to determine where it was coming from. It was as though the room itself was growling. Then he felt a sudden chakra he'd felt many times before. Naruto wasn't moving. He just lay there, as still as a dummy. But Kakashi could feel this horrible chakra coming from him. This obviously meant only one thing. It was the Kyuubi.

Kakashi jumped off the window sill and carefully approached Naruto. Naruto's body was as still as ever, but the growling was getting louder and the chakra was getting stronger. And at that moment, the door banged open and there were a group of people there, all except one at the centre were masked. Tsunade, who was in the centre, took out her kunai and made a small cut in her finger and immediately started performing a seal. She was soon done and the growling stopped and the Kyuubi's chakra disappeared. Kakashi stared at her, never expecting her to turn up so suddenly and perform a seal that could hold back the _Kyuubi._

'What the heck was that seal? How did you do it?' Kakashi asked Tsunade.

'It was something I came to know when someone told me about the Kyuubi. But that was only temporary. It won't last longer than a week. We have to find something that'll prevent its escape.' she replied.

'I know that, but how did you know and turn up with all of them?' Kakashi asked, looking in the direction of the masked people.

'Oh, they were just returning from a mission and I was at the gates to tell them about Naruto when I felt the Kyuubi's chakra. So I thought that the seal might have some effect and came here, so they followed.' she replied. 'Anyway, you can go home, Kakashi. I'll have the strongest among them stay here.'

'Fine. But still, how're we going to find a way to seal it when you yourself said that it might not be possible?'

'We'll do something. We might be able to hold back the demon with this seal if Naruto just stops relying on its chakra. Then it'll gain control over him even more through the chakra. So its best to keep him away from missions and fights for a while. But like I said, this seal's not strong enough to stop the demon from breaking out and the Fourth's seal is also weak. So even if a bit of the demon's chakra get's mixed with Naruto's or even if it gets into his veins, there'll be no way to stop it unless we have someone as brave and strong as the Fourth.'

'Yeah... so, I'll see you tomorrow then?' said Kakashi and he disappeared. Tsunade looked at Naruto's sleeping face as one of the Anbu got into the room while the others departed. Poor kid, she thought, and with one last look at him, she left.

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Naruto stood there at the huge gate with the huge cracked lock. He looked inside and saw clearly, a huge fox with nine tails was trapped. He stared at it. It spoke to him in a low, growling voice:

'Kid, come on now, I've given you so much of my power, shouldn't you do something in return to me and destroy this damned seal?'

'No way! Why should I let you out! I'll only die!' Naruto yelled back at it.

'I hate ungrateful brats like you. You say that you'll surpass all the previous Hokages? That won't happen if you're not willing to throw your life away for other creatures, like that god damned Fourth did, to save the village?'

'So? He did it for a good reason, to save the village. But if I let you out him dying'll be a waste won't it?' Naruto yelled back again.

'Hahaha... so you use your head, don't you? Yes, of course I'm going to destroy the village which trapped me here, since the one who trapped me is already dead. But anyway, the seal is weakening. So I'll get my favor returned anyway.' and the two red, glowing eyes from the blackness behind the gate looked at the lock.

'But for now, I'll teach you how to grateful for others lending you their power.' and red light blasted out at Naruto from behind the gate. Next thing he knew, he was sitting up on his bed at home, panting and sweating heavily.

'You okay, kid?' Naruto looked up and saw a masked man standing there, leaning over his bed.

'Yeah... just, a nightmare...' Naruto panted. 'Who're you?'

'That's not important. Just wait till day. Come on now, get up.'

'What happened to me?' Naruto asked, suddenly realizing that the last thing he remembered was a horrible pain at the bridge and him going unconcious.

'Just wait till day.' the man repeated. He went up to the window and sat down on the chair he had drawn for himself. Naruto fell back on his pillow. In what seemed like a few seconds, the sun was up and noises could be heard outside his window. The door opened and Kakashi and Tsunade entered.

'Kakashi-sensei! What're you doing here?' Naruto asked, sitting up again.

Just came to see if you were ok. Looks like you are then aren't you?'

'Kakashi, first of all, just get it clear with him.' Tsunade interrupted.

'Get what clear?' Naruto asked.

'Right, now listen carefully Naruto. If you don't, you might just leave us forever.' Naruto stared. 'From today on, you should not allow even the teeniest bit of the Kyuubi's chakra to enter you. Then secondly, you shouldn't doing anything that strains your body. You can walk around and all that, but keep calm. You must rest more than you work. Also, from now on there will also be somebody--a Jounin or higher--with you wherever you go. You shouldn't go alone anywhere. There'll also be somebody at your house, so you'll be under an eye 24x7.'

'What the heck are you talking about Kakashi-sensei!' Naruto said, staring at him in disbelief. 'Why's all this necessary?'

'The more of the Kyuubi's chakra you use, the more your life-span gets shortened.'

'I know that! That pervert sennin told me that already. But why shouldn't I _allow _even a bit of it to enter my body?'

'Naruto, you should rest now, I'll tell you the rest when you wake up.'

'I'm already awake!'

'When you wake up after resting now. So just rest and no excuses.' Tsunade said firmly and walked out. Kakashi stared at Naruto, feeling bad for him. But it was for the village's and his own good. Naruto flopped down on the bed again and stared angrily at the cieling, annoyed at everybody around him. He wasn't even listening when Kakashi tried to cheer him up. Finally, Naruto fell asleep without knowing that he was sleepy and Kakashi went and sat at the window again to watch over him for the day. Later in the afternoon, Sasuke and Sakura came to visit, but since Naruto was still asleep, Sakura left, but Sasuke stayed back with Kakashi.

Sasuke sat on a chair at the table while Kakashi sat in the window sill again. Then, suddenly, Naruto gave a wild jerk and Kakashi could feel that horrible chakra again, but this time, there was no growling...

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A/N: there! a longer chapter! this is the longest chapter i've written so far, including the old version. it also looks like Gothic Kacie forgot to review again! anyway, it's ok if you forgot, i can remind you, but if you aren't reviewing... umm... i'll talk about that later. anyway, reivew this time at least!

Kai Hiwatari II


	3. The Kyuubi broke out?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**Kyuubi broke out?**

Naruto's limp body suddenly began to twitch more wildly and the chakra grew more intense than Kakashi had felt the last time, but there was still no growling. Then, Naruto slowly got up with his eyes closed. He sat up and slowly opened his eyes and Kakashi and Sasuke backed away. His eyes weren't the normal blue, but a blood-red color. Both Kakashi and Sasuke had seen those eyes before whenever Naruto used the Kyuubi's power. But this time, they were so scary that all you felt like doing was running in the opposite direction, never looking back. Naruto looked more foxish with these eyes. He got up and looked around. Then, he saw Sasuke and Kakashi at the window. Then, with a sudden speed which no one would ever expect from Naruto, he disappeared and hit both Kakashi and Sasuke with one slash and both of them fell on opposite sides with two big slashes on their stomachs.

Then, Naruto slowly walked to the door, but stopped involuntarily. He turned around and saw Shikamaru standing in the window. His and Naruto's shadow were connected. Then, suddenly the chakra disappeared and all three of them saw the red eyes switch to blue again just before the eyelids closed over them. Naruto's body became limp again. The shadows disconnected and Kakashi went forward and caught him. Sasuke helped him put Naruto back on the bed and went down and took Kakashi's place in the window sill. Kakashi turned and asked Shikamaru—

'What're you doing here?'

'The 5th asked me to come here to tell you that she wants a word with you. Just when I was below this window, I heard yours and Sasuke's yells. So I came in from here.' Shikamaru replied. 'Why was _he _attacking _you_?'

'Later. You stay here with Sasuke and he'll fill you in. I'll go and meet her right now.' And Kakashi left by the window. Sasuke got up and sat on the chair again, treating his wound.

'So why _was _he attacking you?'

'Did you know?'

'Know what?'

'That Naruto has the Kyuubi sealed inside of him?' and Sasuke looked up. He saw the stunned look on Shikamaru's face and turned back to his wound again. 'That's why he's had so much power that you've seen recently. He uses the Kyuubi's. The first time I ever saw and felt that power was in the Wave Country. He thought that I was dead and attacked the guy who he had thought killed me. That's when I saw it. There was this horrible chakra all around him and all his wounds healed up right there.'

'Yeah, I think I saw it too. When he fought that Neji in the Chuunin Exam finals. Howcome no one told me?'

'I didn't know either until Kakashi told me the last time me and Naruto fought each other the last time. He had so much power that I was even unsure whether I should fight him. The seal which hold's the Kyuubi inside has weakened and the there is the chance that it can break out any time. I think it had taken control of him while he was asleep just now. Those eyes told all.'

'And I thought he'd attack you on his own. Maybe that's why the fifth wants to see Kakashi.'

'Yeah, maybe.' And both of them sat there all night, doing nothing but staring at Naruto. Soon it was morning and Kakashi came in to see both Sasuke and Shikamaru fast asleep.

'Hey, wake up you two! Shikamaru, you're supposed to go to Tsunade-sama for your mission. And Sasuke, you can do whatever you want. Somebody from the Anbu will arrive here soon. 'Till then, I'll be here. So you can leave.'

'Nah. I'll stay here. I don't have anything to do anyway.' said Sasuke while Shikamaru left, yawning widely and muttering something about "troublesome".

'At least go and have breakfast. You can't live all day without it.'

'Fine. See you later.' And he followed Shikamaru out of the door. Kakashi took a seat and thought how boring life had got since two days. He had gotten so used to Naruto's hyperness that life was so boring that you wouldn't mind jumping in some well. Just then, there was a knock on the door Sasuke had just closed. Kakashi went and opened it and saw Gai and Lee standing there.

'Gai, what're you doing here?' Kakashi asked.

'Lee wanted to visit Naruto, so I thought I'd come along.' he replied.

'How _is_ Naruto-kun?' Lee asked Kakashi.

'He was fine to begin with. But yesterday was scary. Don't ask me to recall it.' Kakashi said and moved for the two to enter. Just when he was about to shut it, another visitor turned up.

'Oh, it's you Sakura. Boy, Naruto sure is having many visitors today.'

'Huh? Oh, Lee-san!' she said, noticing that Lee and his sensei were there too.

'Gai, could you stay here for some time and watch over him? It's boring sitting here and doing nothing.'

'What about Come, Come Paradise?' Gai asked.

'Finished it.'

'Come, Come Violence? Come, Come Paradise second one?'

'Finished both.'

'You're some fast reader! But you still haven't beaten me! What about a match now?' and he showed his sparkling teeth.

'No physical. Just rock, paper scissors.'

'Fine! If I lose, I'll stay here until he wakes up and I won't go out for anything, even food!' Both Sakura and Lee stared at him.

'Done.' and both of them put their moves.

'Nooooooooooooooo!' Gai yelled, running all around the room. He had put paper and Kakashi scissors.

'So now what? We're even. 50 each, right?'

'Okay, this'll settle it! One last one and this'll decide who's the better winner!' said Gai. 'And if I lose this time, I'll run all around Konoha on my hands again, and this time, for two days without a break!'

'Umm… is that possible?' Sakura asked Lee.

'Of course! But Gai-sensei'll win anyway! Go Gai-sensei!'

'Thanks Lee! Let's go Kakashi!'

'Geez…' said Kakashi, wondering what they were getting so excited about. Gai was staring at Kakashi in deep thoughts. Since he put scissors last time, he might put rock this time, he thought. So I should put paper again! Both of them put their move and there was a deadly silence. Kakashi had put scissors again.

'Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!' Gai yelled, this time, joined by Lee.

'Well, I'll see to it that you run all around Konoha. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' and a single clone appeared and followed the stunned Gai out of the door.

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A/N: another chap! Keep reviewing pple! The others who're not reviewing too! I want your opinions of what you think! So please review!

Kai Hiwatari II


	4. Search for Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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A/N: oh yeah, the answer to that question, well, in the second round, Gai said that he'd run around konoha, so the watching over naruto part was cancelled. sorry! should've mentioned it!

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**Search for Naruto**

The real Kakashi and Sakura watched as Gai slouched out of the door. He stopped at the door and looked around at Kakashi.

'How come you're making sure I do it today? You usually don't.' he asked.

'Just as a part of the fun.' Kakashi said, shrugging. 'Besides, my instincts told me that you might not do it today.' Gai fired up at once.

'Me? Ho dare you, Kakashi! When have I, Gai Mite, never kept up my word? I will not sink to a level where I do not keep up the promise with which I fated myself!' he thundered at Kakashi.

'Well, because you haven't eaten anything since yesterday evening.' Kakashi said as Gai's stomach roared.

'Ah... heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh...' was Gai's reply.

'So, I'll see how you keep up your word this time.'

'So what if I've not hogged anything? I'll still never break my promise! Just you watch!' said a fired-up-again Gai. He stomped out of the door and disappeared.

'Kakashi-sensei, how long will it take for Naruto to wake up and what's wrong with him in the first place? Why does the Kyuubi breaking out of him have to do with him?' Sakura asked Kakashi.

'Good question. I don't know myself. But the nearest answer for now would be because the seal is not completely broken. The Kyuubi is trying to escape but cannot. If it was completely held inside, helpless, Naruto would be fine as there would be no chakra inteference. But now, the chakra constantly keeps flowing out of his body without break and out of his control. This blocks his chakra from travelleing all around the body properly. All I know is it could be something to do with it. I may be completely wrong, but this is the nearest answer. I have no idea what the chakra not being able to flow properly has to do with him being unconcious.' Kakashi replied.

'Why can't we just seal it up again?'

'You know what this kind of seal demands. It's already taken two of our great Hokages. Besides, I don't think it would be a good idea to add the same seal on top of the remaining bits of the seal. Who know what effect it might have?' Kakashi said. Just at that moment, the door opened and there was a masked man standing there.

'Hokage-sama has said that Anbu are to guard Naruto. You can leave if you want to.' the Anbu member said.

'Sure. I was getting bored anyway. I'll get some breakfast and get back to visit.' Kakashi said and was about to leave but stopped at the door. 'What about you, Sakura?'

'I'll leave too. I guess we won't be having any missions for some time.' she replied and followed Kakashi out of the door. Just as both of them left, Naruto slowly sat up on the bed again. But the Anbu guy was off his guard, his mind on what a boring mission this was. Naruto silently got out of bed and sneaked up behind the guard ...

Somwhere around the evening, there was a knock on Naruto's door. But there was no reply. The door opened and Sasuke walked in.

'Kakashi? Are you here?' he called. Just as he said that he stopped dead. The room looked red all around. There was a man lying dead on the floor with blood splattered on the wall in front of him and behind the door. Sasuke started shaking uncontrollably ... the scene had a striking resemblence to that one with Itachi ... Sasuke collapsed to the floor. Just then, Kakashi made his entry. With one sweeping, shocked look around the room, he quickly helped Sasuke stand up and supported him outside. He shut the door and put a seal on it. He supported Sasuke all the way upto Tsunade's room where he dropped Sasuke into a chair where he sat limply.

'What happened?' Tsunade asked, looking surpirised and also, a bit scared.

'It's Naruto, Tsunade-sama. He's disappeared. The Anbu member you sent to guard him has been killed. I think you'd better send someone to clean up Naruto's room. But most importantly, we've got to look for Naruto.' Kakashi panted, as he had been dragging Sasuke along all the way.

'You're right. I--' Tsunade started, but the door banged open and a terrified looking Shizune was leaning against the door, sprayed with blood.

'Shizune! What happened? Answer me!' Tsunade shouted, running up to her.

'It's Naruto. Please, follow me quickly.' she replied weakly.

'Lead the way!' Tsunade said. She followed Shizune outside. Kakashi went after her too. But Sasuke just laid there, shocked that Naruto would do something like that. But wait, it wasn't Naruto doing it by his own will, but it was because of the Kyuubi. And from what he had come to know from Jiraiya (though not directly), Akatsuki were after all the nine Bijuu. And wouldn't now be the perfect time for them when it was almost loose? But he had to do all he could to stop it from escaping. And thinking of that, he got up at last and ran outside, following the path that had just been taken by Kakashi.

He reached a clearing in the forest outside the village where there was a Konoha Outpost. But he saw the same scene there too. He concentrated with all his might to prevent himself from collapsing again. To distract himself, he walked up to Kakashi and asked a question though he already knew the answer:

'What the heck happened here?'

'Naruto's what happened here. The Kyuubi's getting out of hand. And on top of all that, Naruto's disappeared. We've got to find him quickly.' Kakashi replied. He turned around to see two more Anbu and -- Shikamaru.

'Wh-What in the world happened here?' Shikamaru asked in total shock.

'We'll explain later. First gather all the Anbu and Jounins in the village and take whomever you feel trustworthy who can protect themselves and set off to look for Naruto. I'll explain when you're back here with them all. Go quickly!' Tsunade ordered. Shikamaru ran back into the village but the other two Anbu stayed behind.

'Why did you have to leave him of all the people to guard him, Tsunade-sama?' one of them asked.

'Because he was not an Anbu. He was one of my suspects. I believe he has recently joined Akatsuki and was ordered to release Naruto from that place so that the higher members can capture it. He was merely a pawn as no one from Akatsuki could get in here without the slightest notice. Not that he succeeded very much, but he didn't stand out as much as them. Jiraiya was the one who told me about Akatsuki having a new member. However, he joined the Anbu too recently, just about a week before he joined Akatsuki. That was his mission from Akatsuki.' Tsunade said.

'But couldn't you devise a method that wouldn't include the Kyuubi escaping? Why did you have to make _him _guard it? Wouldn't it only make it easier for him to let it escape?' the other one asked.

'Yes, but if anyone else was on guard at that time, they would be killed. As for the Kyuubi escaping, even I wouldn't be able to stop it if I was on guard.'

'Then why do we need to pursue it if we can't stop it?' he asked again.

'Because we've got to save Naruto.' Sasuke said suddenly.

'But we can't possibly do that! The Kyuubi is in control of Naruto's body! How can we extract him from the depths of the Kyuubi's power?'

'There is one way to stop it permanently. But this will lead to the loss of another life. The only other person who can do the Seal which sealed the Kyuubi years ago is somewhere I don't know. But if we find him and he agrees, then we can stop the Kyuubi escaping.' Tsunade said.

'But that's another impossible task! Nobody can convince somebody to throw away their life like that! The Sandaime and Yondaime did it by their own will. We can't force or even beg somebody to do it.'

'There is another way.' Kakashi said just as suddenly as Sasuke. 'There is one forbidden seal which my father knew and told me about. That can hold back the Kyuubi for some time until Tsunade-sama discovers something to do. But is this seal is performed perfectly, it even closes up whatever is open in any other older seal. But this seal is very draining and in the worst case, I can die. But I'm ready to do it. Maximum, it can hold the Kyuubi back for another year or so. Now, let's find Naruto.'

'You sure Kakahsi?' Tsunade asked.

'Of course.' he replied just as Shikamaru returned with all the forces Tsunade had called for.

'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!' Kakashi said, biting a cut in his finger and laying his palm flat on the ground. A puff of smoke appeared and disappeared, leaving Pakkun in its midst. 'Lead the way to Naruto!'

'Sure!' the pup replied and started sniffing away. Tsunade just finished explaining the situation to everybody when the dog said: 'I think I've found him. Follow me!' and it ran off. Kakashi followed and the whole army-thingy disappeared.

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A/N: i'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates! but my fanfic account just wasn't opening! it said "invalid password" all these days though it was correct.

Note: oh yeah, about Sasuke still being with them after Tsunade's Hokage and all that, I'm just assuming that in the fic, he never went to Orochimaru. Whatever deviates from the actual story, well, I;m just assuming that deviation... whatever it is, and there are many of them.

Well, review people!

Kai Hiwatari II


	5. Kyuubi gone, for now at least

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**Kyuubi gone, for now at least**

Kakashi ran as fast as he could after Pakkun. The sky was slowly growing darker, as though some kind of dry storm was coming. But Kakashi could feel the same old, trrrifying chakra which he ad felt most recently in Naruto's room. He was hoping madly that the Kyuubi hadn't broken out yet. As they got further away from Konoha, the earth suddenly and slowly started vibrating. Kakashi stopped. So did Pakkun and the rest of the forces. It was like a massive earthquake. Kakashi thought he knew what it was.

'Bunshin no Jutsu!' he said and a clone appeared. It jumped up onto a tree and something white darted out of nowhere and pierced the clonw which was torn apart. The clone disappeared. 'There's no doubt about it! It's the Kyuubi! Careful, no one get into its sight or range of smell which is still far away!' Kakashi said to everybody else. All of them moved slowly and silently until they reached a clearing. They peeped through the trees just as blood came flying in their direction. They were looking into a small valley, in the centre of which was a small town, half of which was destroyed by the giant fox with nine-tails which was thrashing around madly. Kakashi felt someone collapse next to him. He turned and saw Sasuke on the floor again. All of the others too looked unsure about this mission. Noticing this, Kakashi said:

'Don't worry, all you lot have to do is somehow distract the Kyuubi without getting into its sight or range of smell. Clones'll do perfectly, but we'll need lots of them. Once it's distracted, it's my turn. All of you stay hidden here but keep sending in clones to distract it. I'll get on with the Seal. Okay, start now.' and there was a whispered shout of "Bunshin no Jutsu!" and "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Thousands of clones set off towards the Kyuubi, but in the same number of those white darts, all the clones were gone within the next moment. Everybody including Kakashi looked shocked.

'Impossible! Where did those-whatever they are-come from? Has the Kyuubi been growing stronger all these years?' one of the Anbu asked.

'Forget about this! Look at who's there right opposite to us!' Kakashi said suddenly. Everybody looked in the forest edge at the other side of the valley. There were two men there, Itachi and Kisame.

'Shit! Now they're here! How do we control this situation?' Shikamaru asked.

'Well, one thing's for sure. Naruto has to be somewhere nearby. Since the seal isn't open completely, the Kyuubi can't wander off as it wants to. Naruto should still have control of it. It's become something like the Shukaku now. When Naruto's asleep, the Kyuubi can take control of Naruto's body so that it can move wherever it wants to. So that's giving me an idea, instead of me risking myself and walking upto the Kyuubi, we'll find Naruto and try to wake him up.' Kakashi said, the idea striking him just as he related the situation to the Shukaku.

'Are you sure he's okay?' Shikamaru asked one of the Anbu, surprised that he was able to relate the _Kyuubi_ with the _Shukaku_. There was so much difference between their powers, hpw could it be that simple to seal back the Kyuubi?

'He's never been wrong in life and death situations since he became a Jounin as far as I can remember. Anyway, it's best we listen to what he says. After all, he was ready to risk his life...' the Anbu guy replied.

'Hah ... nice trick, but not enough to trick the Anbu. Where's Kakashi?' Sasuke suddenly said. Everybody turned towards him. Nobody had noticed him get up. His eyes were full of anger and hatred.

'You've grown, Sasuke.' Kakashi said in a different voice. A puff of smoke bursted into the air around Kakashi and the Anbu guy who had replied to Shikamaru's question. The smoke disappeared, leaving no Kakashi or Anbu, but Itachi and Kisame.

'How did he notice? I didn't know that your brother was so smart, Itachi-san.' Kisame said. Itachi didn't answer, but Sasuke said.

'I've seen the Shukaku right in front of my eyes. I've fought it too, though not in its completely transformed state. The Shukaku is a monster that comes out when the Jinchuuriki falls asleep, that part's right, but this situation has nothing to do with it. In the Shukaku's case, the seal is not broken, so you can send it back inside the container by waking up the Jinchuuriki. But here, the seal is almost totally open. How can you send it back inside with no seal?' Sasuke said. 'Now, where's Kakashi?'

'Right in front of your eyes.' Kisame said, but he suddenly exclaimed: 'How silly of me! What's the point of telling you when you're not going to see him again?'

'Not now, Kisame!' Itachi said sharply. 'Our job comes first. The Kyuubi is about to leave from the area, I think. It was a waste of time coming this side.'

'Now don't start blaming me because it was my idea! C'mon, let's hurry.' Kisame said and he and Itachi disappeared.

'WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU GUYS DOING? YOU'RE LETTING THEM ESCAPE!' Shikamaru yelled at the rest of the forces. They came back to their senses and shot off after them, but without their notice, Sasuke had already pursued them. He managed to stop the two of them by launching an attack. Though it had no effect on them, it was enough to stop them long enough for the others to catch up to them. A fight followed that. All of them had forgotten that the Kyuubi was still in the area. But its roar brought their attention to it. The fight stopped. But everybody were deep within the Kyuubi's range. Not even the whole of Akatsuki could have dealt with it now.

'Kisame! Retreat!' Itachi said and both of them disappeared, leaving all the Konoha forces trapped. But just as the Kyuubi was about to attack them straight on, it suddenly stopped as though it was turned into a giant stuffed doll. Everybody could sense the enormous chakra fading away. The Kyuubi gave a kind of roar with a bit of a yelping sound which a dog would make mixed into it. Then, with another loud screech, it disappeared into thin air. All of them saw a dark figure falling to the ground behind where the Kyuubi had just been. Another small figure came trotting upto it and another tall figure. Sasuke knew who they were at one.

'No ...' he whispered and sped towards the three figures. When he reached the spot, he saw six kunais in a perfect circle with perfect, equal spacing between them. Inside, there was a lot of text in blood, though Sasuke had no idea how text could be written on grass as though it were paper. Sasuke realized at once that Kakashi had just performed that forbidden seal he had been talking about. It was only then he saw that the Anbu guy Kisame ha pretended to be was holding Naruto in his arms. Sasuke could see the seal once again. It was somehow whole again, though something about it made Sasuke suddenly picture a cracked dam with overflowing water. Maybe that was because Kakashi had said that even this would not be enough to hold back the Kyuubi. Then what in the world could hold it back? However, Another Anbu guy took Kakahsi on his shoulder and they all set back off to Konoha.

A/N: i hope you understand sasuke's explanation to itachi. for some reason, i get the feeling that this chapter's not all that okay ... it may even be bad. review and tell me what you think!

Kai Hiwatari II


	6. Is Kakashi going to survive?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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Hey pple! don't yell at me if this chap's not all that good. i've lost my touch after not writing for nearly three to four months. sorry for that delay but ... high school's tough ... heheh ... and internet keeps running away ...

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**Is Kakashi going to survive?**

Everybody rushed back to Konoha to show Kakashi to Tsunade and see if by any out-of-this-world chance something could be done about him. Just when the moon was at zenith, they reached the gates of Konoha. The guard standing there peered at them through the darkness and the pearly light of the moon and recognized them when they were about ten feet from him. Once they reached him, he enquired about the situation. First they asked him to let Kakashi, Sasuke and Shikamaru inside. One Anbu member stayed back to fill the guard in, while the others went to the Hokage monument to tell Tsunade about it. They also took Kakashi to see if anything could be done. They soon reached and knocked on the door. Nobody answered. They knocked again. Nobody answered again. They opened the door and found silence inside her room. Nobody was there, and the room was the same as it was when they last saw her.

'Where's Hokage-sama?' they asked each other. Obviously they did not get the answer. They went up to the village's Advisors and were glad to find at least them.

'What is it at this hour? And what happened to the Kyuubi?' they asked, as though they were inside some kind of a story book.

'Tsunade-sama is gone. No trace of her and not a single clue. There is no sign of a struggle. It looks more like she went by her own will.' they informed them.

'Oh that. Tsunade said she was going to go somewhere outside the village to the neighboring country or something. But don't worry about it. She can't die that eaisily.'

'That's not the thing. Kakashi-san had to do that forbidden seal thing. I hope Tsunade-sama has told you about that.'

'It seems that she has.'

'Well, as I said, he had to perform that seal. So now we have no idea about what to do about him. He had said that the seal involves a great risk to his life. But that doesn't mean we can just dump him somewhere. We need to get him treated whether it succeeds or not. We had thought of showing him to Tsunade-sama. Is at least Shizune-san here?'

'No. Shizune and Haruno Sakura went with her. I have no idea what she plans to do.'

'Then the only thing to do is to admit him to Konoha Hospital. Thank you for your time.' and they bowed and exited. They admitted Kakashi into Konoha Hospital and left. Sasuke was there at Naruto's place and was staring at him, remembering the image of the Kyuubi against the inky blue sky and killing everybody around it. He was shocked at how terrifying the Kyuubi could be. But he slowly came to realize that he had been stupid not to notice it. The Ichibi or the Shukaku itself was so terrifying, then how could he not have thought of the Kyuubi as more powerful? Well, forget about that now, first thing to do was something he did not know. He did not know what he was supposed to do as there was no Kakashi to tell him. His only hope was that Tsunade could somehow cure him or that he recovers by tomorrow. Just then, he heard a groan behind him and he jumped out of his skin. He saw that Naruto was coming round.

'Naruto! Are you all right?'

'Sasuke? What the hell happened? I had some weird dream that the Kyuubi from thirteen years ago came back to Konoha and that Kakashi-sensei died doing some kind of seal to seal it up.'

'Dream? It really happened. The seal on you had weakened. The Kyuubi got hold of your body and took it to some place where it came out and attacked. Akatsuki were also there. But we managed to fend them off.'

'You mean Kakashi-sensei really died!?' Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet.

'Calm down! He hasn't died ye--'

'What do you mean yet?' he shouted.

'Will you shut up for a moment you moron!' Sasuke yelled and slapped Naruto hard enough to mark his cheek. Naruto looked shocked at Sasuke's sudden action. 'He hasn't died yet. But he might die anytime, God knows. He had said that the seal to seal up the broken parts of a previous seal would involve a great risk to his life. He decided to do it on his own. It's his problem if he dies.' Sasuke said and walked out, slamming the door shut behind him. For some reason, Naruto got the feeling that Sasuke was blaming him for Kakashi's situation and for everything else for which the Kyuubi was the cause. It was almost like he was treating Naruto as the Kyuubi itself. He had thought that people were at last beginning to recognize him as a ninja and acknowledge his existence. But there was this one person who was refusing to acknowledge him. And this was the person whom he wanted acknowledgement from, his rival. If his rival acknowledged him, then he wouldn't care if the rest of the village did not. But now, he began to realize that it seemed to be impossible that Sasuke would acknowledge him. The reason, he did not know.

Naruto stood still where he was. He hadn't moved since Sasuke slapped him. He was not sure why the Kyuubi would make Sasuke so angry. After all, Kakashi was not a relative of his. Nor had the Kyuubi done anything to the Uchiha Clan. Naruto's knees gave way and he fell back onto the bed and did not get up.

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Sasuke strolled through the streets with his hands in his pockets and a grumpy look on his face. He was beginning to regret slapping Naruto. After all, it wasn't his fault that the Kyuubi was doing everything it wanted to. It was a hugely powerful creature whom Naruto had no chance of holding back. But he began to realize something more. Naruto had said that he had "some weird dream" about what all the Kyuubi had done tonight. It meant that the Kyuubi did not fully take over Naruto's body. Naruto would still be awake only in his own subconciousness. But it was not as though it opened a new path to preventing the Kyuubi from coming out. The seal might be full again, but if the Kyuubi could weaken the original seal, then what would a patch have a chance against it? Well, the only thing to do now was to tell Tsunade that Naruto had a "weird dream". Maybe she would be able to think of something.

Sasuke walked up to her office and saw a group of Anbu sitting at the door. They saw him come and asked what he wanted.

'To see the Hokage.' Sasuke said.

'Hokage-sama is not here. The Advisors say that she left the village with Shizune-san and Haruno Sakura while we were battling the Kyuubi. We do not know where she went. But we suspect that it might be something to do with the Kyuubi.' one of them said.

'Oh great. Fine then.' and Sasuke turned around and left. Where could she have gone? And even if it _was_ something to do with the Kyuubi, why would she have to leave the village when the Kyuubi is _in_ the village? She most probably would have gone for some gambling, Sasuke thought and headed towards the village gates. He opened them slightly and walked out through the narrow gap, and what he saw outside almost shocked him. A bloody figure lay on the ground. Once he got close to it, he recognized it as Tsunade's attendent, Shizune.

His mind went so blank that he could not think of what to do. His mind reacted at last, and told his body to take her to Konoha Hospital, but his body had not reacted yet. He fell to his knees, and only then he noticed that under Shizune was Sakura. By the looks of it, it was as though Shizune was protecting Sakura from something. Sakura too was just as bloody and scarred as Shizune. There was also a trail of blood in the pathway. It was their trail as they had come this way. Sasuke's mind blanked out again after seeing Sakura. Just then, Naruto came to the gates and saw the same thing Sasuke did, but did not blank out. He ignore Sasuke and walked past him. He lifted up Shizune and Sakura onto his shoulders and ran into the village as fast as he could. Sasuke suddenly came to his senses and followed Naruto. But he was surprised at the fact that he only found Naruto at the hospital. His speed really surprised Sasuke. Actually, he was underestimating Naruto's speed. Sakura and Shizune were already admitted and were undergoing treatment. So that meant that Naruto was there way before. Sasuke's surprise was slowly turning into shock. His almost fell to his knees again, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay standing. Naruto didn't even look at Sasuke as he walked into the hospital.

After about half an hour, the emergency room opened and the doctor who came out said that they'd be fine, but would never be themselves again.

'They will not be the same as they were. They will be quite weaker than before. I have no idea what attacked them or what it did to them. But their bodies were severely injured and most of their vital organs have been attacked. Good job. You brought them just in time. Even if they had been treated a minute later, they would surely have died. You can go home now and come to visit tomorrow. They need to rest and stay in the hospital for at least a month.' he told Naruto.

'Thanks. What about Kakashi-sensei?'

'Oh ... We have not been able to do anything about him. We don't know the nature of the seal or what effects it has on the sealer. Until we know that, there is no hope of any effective treatment. But one thing is for sure, he is alive and stable for now. But who knows, as I said, we do not know anything about the seal. Anything can suddenly happen. But I advise you not to worry.'

'But now that these two are like this, we have no idea what happened to --'

'I know. Anything could have happened to Hokage-sama. She could even have died. But I wouldn't bet on that. She can't die so eaisily. But now go home and get some sleep. Come back tomorrow to visit.' the doctor said and walked off to his office. Naruto slowly went out of the hospital, leaving Sasuke alone in the empty reception.

A/N: so, was it good enough? Review please!

Kai Hiwatari II


	7. Bijuu Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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okay pple, the tragedy begins.

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**Bijuu Reunion ...**

Sasuke did not move as Naruto walked past him, leaving him alone in the reception. The way Naruto just ignored him, Sasuke could make out that he had really hurt Naruto when he slapped him earlier. He started to realize that a full fledged fight would have been better, because Naruto must have realized what the cause for Sasuke to slap him was, though not completely. Sasuke started to totally regret what he had done. He started to think that he'd better apologise to Naruto, after all, it was not his fault that the Kyuubi was sealed inside of him, and it was also not his fault that the Kyuubi was attacking. He had already thought of these things once, but he could not bring himself to apologising to Naruto.

Sasuke began to feel just as bad as Naruto was. He got up, stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked out of the hospital the way he had when he found Shizune and Sakura. But if Naruto had not come at that time, they would surely have died, because Sasuke would never have reacted, because the scene, if it just had Itachi there, would have been a recreation of Sasuke's worst experience.

He walked along the silent and dark streets of Konoha, with the cool breeze blowing through his hair. He looked up at the starry sky and suddenly realized that he was getting a feeling saying that something was wrong, though it did not tell him what. The feeling didn't go away as he continued his walk without a destination. In fact, it just became stronger. Finally, he could not ignore it. He tried to think of all the things that would make him think like that and it ended up in him going to Naruto's place. He reached there and knocked on the door. There was no answer. The feeling was becoming even stronger as he reached Naruto's place, and he finally assumed that there _was_ something wrong with Naruto. He knocked harder. There was still no answer. He became tenser and tenser. He finally kicked down the door and saw darkness. But he could see the silhoutte of a Naruto-like figure in the light of the moon. Sasuke searched for the light switch and turned it on and experienced such a shock that he almost just fell onto the ground. There was Naruto's body, lying as though--wait, it even might be--dead. He whole body was sort of carved up and was bleeding from head to foot. Blood was flowing out of his mouth as though it was a stream. Sasuke's mind began to fall apart. There was no one in the village to take him to. Tsunade was gone and Shizune was half-dead. The light went off by itself, the power was cut. Just then, he saw the silhoutte of another big figure come in and pick up Naruto and disappeared through the door, but this time Sasuke reacted quickly and ran after the big figure.

Once outside in the moonlight, Sasuke saw that the figure was "ero-sennin". Jiraiya, of course, he was still there in the village. But if something happened to him too? Sasuke shook his head and told himself that this was not the time to think of all those things. Jiraiya, though so big, was much faster than Sasuke. But the trail of blood was so thick that he could eaisily follow it. It led all the way to the gates and kept going. Sasuke followed it till the first bridge, where it just went off the path, down to the river, but the sight shocked Sasuke more than anything in his whole life. The bridge was broken completely down the middle. The river water was red, and the moon too looked reddish. A closer look showed that bodies were floating down the river endlessly and the water became even redder. Sasuke had never seen so much blood. But he followed Jiraiya's trail and saw that he had lain Naruto next to the river and removed a medium-sized bottle from his pocket which contained what looked like red smoke. Jiraiya opened the bottle, and there was an ear piercing shreik and a sound which sounded like an explosion. The red smoke began to expand, but Jiraiya began a Fuuinjutsu before the Kyuubi could take its proper form. The spirit of the Kyuubi began to take form when Jiraiya finished his fuuinjutsu. Sasuke heard him shout 'Fuuin!' and the Kyuubi disappeared. Jiraiya's body fell limp.

Sasuke ran down and saw that the blood had stopped flowing from Naruto's mouth. His body was beginning to heal, that was clearly visible. He looked at Jiraiya and saw that his eyes were closed and also that he was not breathing. Sasuke dreadingly went closer and felt around for a pulse. He didn't find one. But his mind was refusing the fact that he was dead. He could feel another spirit somewhere but could not see it. Then he realized that this was Shikifuujin, the seal that sealed the Kyuubi, and the seal that took two of Konoha's Hokages. The seal was visible on Naruto's navel, and it looked solid, not like the last time he saw it. He also saw a note in Naruto's hand that was drenched in his blood.

Sasuke took and read the first line: To Tsunade. He opened it and read:

_By the time you read this, I will definitely be gone from this world._

_It is my fault in the first place that the Kyuubi broke out. If its chakra could not flow in Naruto,_

_it would not be possible. Orochimaru had done a five element seal did just did that. But I removed it._

_That is why I am sacrificing my life to seal it back in. But please perform the five element seal again and seal up the Kyuubi for good._

_It was good knowing everyone and I'm glad I could do something good for the village._

_And now I know how Sarutobi-sensei felt before performing the same seal._

_Goodbye._

_-Jiraiya_

Sasuke was almost crying by the time he finished reading it. Stupid old man, he thought. You're simply blaming yourself. Sasuke was not able to get up again. He fell there, crying, as more bodies and blood flowed by with the note clenched in his left hand.

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At the meeting room at the Hokage monument, an emergency discussion was going on. The topic was obvious.

'We have no choice then. We will contact the Sand.' the conclusion was.

'There will be no need for that.' a voice from the door said. Three teenagers were standing there: Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. Gaara was the one who had spoken. 'We have our army ready. Where is Uzumaki Naruto?'

'He should be at his home.' the Elders replied.

'He's not there.' Gaara said.

'He is now.' another shaky voice said. Everybody looked there again. The saw a weak kneed Sasuke there. His whole body was covered with mud and blood. He was also sweating. Tears were also adding to it. Everybody looked shocked at his condition, especially the Sand three.

'Sasuke-kun! What happened?' the Elders asked.

'The Kyuubi had completely broken out.' Sasuke said and he stopped there itself, unable to go on. He fell to the ground and went limp. He closed his eyes, trying in vain to forget what he had seen. Kankuro went forward and carried Sasuke to one of the seats at the meeting table and laid him there in a sitting position. Gaara for the first time, looked shocked as though he was being killed. Everybody had become extremely tense, as Sasuke only told them that the Kyuubi completely broke out. They did not know what else had happened, so they did not know what action to take. The Gaara noticed something. The note in Sasuke;s left hand and pointed it out. Kankuro removed it and read it out loud. There was a creepy silence after that. Not even an insect or the non-existent wind made any noise.

Gaara was first shocked at the fact that Sasuke was so weak. Now he understood why.

'We must go to Naruto's house at once. And somebody bring Sasuke.' the Advisors said. Kankuro just came out. Suddenly, sand surrounded Sasuke and made a kind of stretcher. Gaara carried Sasuke along with them that way. They reached Naruto's house and opened the door inside. The first thing they saw was blood. The whole floor was covered with blood and the bed sheets were drenched in it. So was Naruto. There was lot of scarring on his body. But he was clearly in a deep and undisturbed sleep. Sasuke got up at last. This time, he somehow managed to tell them everything again.

'But unfortunately we still have no idea where Tsunade is. And there is no answer from all the Anbu squads situated outside the village. Everybody we've sent out have never returned. I suppose that is all the work of the Kyuubi. Gaara and Sasuke were not at all paying attention to the conversation. They were both staring deeply at Naruto. Both of them realized that and just glanced at each other. Though they didn't say it, they perfectly understood each other at the moment. Sasuke was just thinking how Gaara really was. Gaara could just not allow Naruto to die because Naruto brought Gaara out of his darkness. If it was not for Naruto, Gaara would have been the same as before. But now, even Gaara had people who acknowledged him and befriended him. Even his life was not enough to pay Naruto back for that.

'Well, we have come to our conclusion. The seal is strong enough to hold the Kyuubi in. But as Jiraiya mentioned in his note, we need Tsunade or else his sacrifice will go to waste.' the Elders said. 'But we cannot spare any more Anbu to go find her. Even though there is no Kyuubi to kill them now, we need them to guard Konoha.'

'I'll go.' Sasuke offered.

'No. You have currently experienced too many shocking things for you to handle. Actually, if it was anybody else, I'm sure they would have gone mad.' the Elders decided.

'I'll send a part of the army we've brought with us. The rest of it will guard Konoha.' Gaara said and looked at Temari. She understood and left.

'Well, we will leave now.' the Elders said and they did leave, leaving Sasuke, Gaara and Kankuro with Naruto. Sasuke went and sat down on a chair next to Naruto's bed. The other two also took one. Soon, Temari returned and informed Gaara that the Army were at their posts.

Sasuke was completely lost. He had no idea what to do. There was nobody for him. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto were in no state to even make a sound. They were the only ones whom he had. If all of them died, he would be ... well, there was no word to describe it. Sasuke took a glance at Gaara. There was a thing in his eyes he'd never seen before, the thing to not let somebody die. He couldn't blame him. He'd gone through worse thing than Naruto and him. Naruto saved him from that. Obviously, he would not want to let him die. The other two's faces were expressionless. Sasuke was too devastated to stay awake. He fell asleep right on his chair.

Gaara looked at him and looked away. He finally understood this "bond between friends" thing. His first friend was Naruto, who had undergone that same things that he had. Sasuke too looked like that. Just as he was thinking of all these things, smoke began to furl around Naruto's body. All his wounds began healing so fast that within the next minute, all were healed. Sasuke had woken up and all four of the got off their chairs and backed away from Naruto, even Gaara. After all, the Ichibi was nothing against the Kyuubi.

'What's happenening?' Temari asked with a shaky voice.

Naruto sat up on the bed and opened his eyes. At once all of them realized that it wasn't Naruto who woke up, it was the Kyuubi that did. Gaara at once performed a set of seals and said: 'Forced Sleep no Jutsu!' and everybody felt a great chakra from him, something like that of the Kyuubi's. It was obviously the Ichibi's. The Kyuubi at once fell to sleep. Naruto eyes turned blue just before his eyelids shut over them and he fell back onto the bed. But he got up once more and Gaara prepared himself once more. But this time, it was Naruto who woke up. Gaara relaxed.

'Naruto! You're finally awake!' Sasuke said and all four of them ran forward just when somebody from the Sand Army came into the room.

'Gaara-sama, we have brought the Sannin's body back to the village. The elders said that his funeral will be performed right now.' he said.

'Thank you. Could you please give us a few moments?' Gaara said.

'Of course.' and he bowed himself out.

'Sannin? Him? You don't mean ... ?' Naruto said with huge dread. Sasuke filled him in.

'No way, impossible!' Naruto said, and he began to cry and curse the "damn fox!". Gaara did not say anything but walked towards the door. Everybody got the message and followed, even Naruto.

They went to the Hokage monument. It was not a formal funeral, so nobody was dressed in black. Naruto and Sasuke were coming in bloody clothes. They reached at last and saw that everybody from Konoha was there. But the Hokage herself was missing.

His coffin was laid there, with a photo of him on top. The Advisors said something which nobody listened to and everybody began to walk forward and place flowers. It began to rain. It was almost a recreation of the Sandaime Hokage's funeral. After about half an hour, everybody began to leave. Only then Naruto and Sasuke noticed that even the Sand had attended the funeral. Sasuke finally made up his mind.

'Naruto, I'm sorry.' he said, straight into Naruto's face, which looked shocked that Sasuke was apologising.

'Nah, forget it.'

'No, really. I shouldn't have done what I did. It's just--'

'You don't have to tell me. Just forget it, okay?' Naruto said and Sasuke fell silent. Gaara, though he did not know about what he apologised, knew how he felt once again. It was the same after Naruto woke him up. All five of them hung out together as the sun began to rise and shine weakly from behind the clouds. Things began to seem much brighter. Naruto and Sasuke wanted to visit Sakura and Kakashi, so the Sand too decided to go with them. They saw that Sakura was able to sit up and speak. But Kakashi and Shizune had not yet woken up. They sat down in Sakura's room, telling her eveything that had happened.

Just as they were talking, Naruto's and Gaara's bodies suddenly became stiff. A strong wind began blowing and the window totally broke. An intense chakra began filling the room and Gaara's gourd had broken into sand. A red smoke-like thing was visible flowing from Naruto through the air. The sand the red smoke flowed outside through the window and landed on the ground and began to take form. Sasuke understood what was happenening. The whole sky was dark and stormy with huge bolts of lightening slashing across. It something like a Bijuu reunion. Soon, the Shukaku and the Kyuubi stood facing each other ...

A/N: well, as i said earlier, the tragedy begins. i'm reaching the end of the story with a few more chapters. review plz!

Kai Hiwatari II


	8. Reawakening of the Uchiha

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**thanks for all the reviews pple! keep 'em comin!**

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**Reawakening of the Uchiha**

Soon, the Shukaku and Kyuubi stood facing each other. For some reason, both of them started fighting so fiercly that the whole terrain was changing. The earth was rumbling, and slowly, the hospital was starting to sink.

'Come on! We've got to get out of here!' Sasuke shouted over the deafening storm and the fighting Bijuu.

'But what about Gaara and that kid? We can't leave them here! They'll get killed!' Kankuro shouted back.

'Don't worry! Nothing can happen to them! The Kyuubi and Shukaku can't afford to let anything happen to them! Now come on!' Sasuke shouted and held the door open for the others. Temari supported Sakura and they exited first. Kankuro followed them and Sasuke just went outside when the whole side of the hospital where their room was collapsed. Soon, they were out in the cold wind outside, which was like large blades cutting them up.

'Where now?' Kankuro yelled. Sasuke didn't answer for a moment. He didn't know where. But then, behind the two Bijuu, he could see a small gate with a symbol on either side of it that reminded Sasuke of something.

'This way!' he bellowed and walked carefully and cautiously towards it, because it was difficult to maintain balance in such strong wind and because of the fighting Bijuu. There was no sign of life around them, which was creepy, even with so much noise. After taking a long detour around the Bijuu, they reached the gate and just walked into it. Only then the other three noticed that the symbol was the same onw as the one on Sasuke's back. But they didn't have time to stop. They kept following Sasuke. Soon, they reached a shrine whose entrance had collapsed. And just at that moment, the Kyuubi began to move their way.

Sasuke searched through the recks and managed to make a small hole. Sakura and Temari got in followed by Kankuro. Sasuke just put his legs inside the dark hole when the Kyuubi stopped in front of him and looked down. Sasuke looked into its big, red eyes. He reacted just in time through that fear. He just let himself fall into the hole when the Kyuubi's paw came crashing down. All the recks were blown away and they were once again in the howling winds. Only then they saw that the Shukaku was on the other side and that they were about to fight again. They ran into the only tunnel ahead of them. Once again, they just got into the tunnel when the Kyuubi's paw came down. The entrance of the tunnel caved in and they were once more in total silence which was very creepy after the noise of such loudness. They could hear and feel the Kyuubi and Shukaku battling outside as the whole tunnel was rumbling. But the sound was muffled.

'This way,' Sasuke half-shouted and led the way down the tunnel.

'There's no need to shout,' Kankuro said. But he too was half-shouting. It was because they were yet to get used to the sudden silence. They kept walking for what seemed like ages and soon reached a small underground room like place, though they couldn't see anything. But Sasuke had a fair remembrance of what was where and soon found a torch and lit it. Then he lit all the torches and sat down in the dim light.

'Are you sure the roof won't come crashing down on us?' Kankuro asked uncertainly.

'Don't worry. This is one of the many rooms in the shrines in the area designed to protect the Uchiha scrolls and the Uchihas. There's no way it can collapse,' Sasuke said.

'Then you could have hidden here to prevent the destruction of your clan,' Temari said. It was as though they had to keep talking.

'Itachi was an Uchiha. He knew about these rooms and how to get in. It would make no difference. And I suppose there wouldn't have been time anyway. He was too good a ninja,' Sasuke replied. The muffled sounds and rumblings continued, though fainter. At that moment, Sasuke looked at the corner of the room right opposite to the entrance. Then his whole body became stiff. Kankuro noticed this and said cautiously:

'Are you all right?'

But he got no answer. Sasuke just got up and walked towards the table there. There was a small box there flanked by two candles. Sasuke put his hand into his pocket and pulled an old, rusted and crumbling key. It fit into the hole. He opened the box and pulled out a set of scrolls. His past began to catch up to him. He had found that key in his father's pocket after he had been killed. His father had told him that that was the key to the most secret scroll of the Uchiha Clan which were strictly prohibited. He had been saying all this aloud without noticing. The other three gathered around him behind him. He opened the scroll ... it was blank.

'That's the most secret scroll?' asked Kankuro who was almost laughing.

'You must be an Uchiha to see this. Or rather, you must have the Sharingan to see what is written. That's how it was made so that no other clan may come to know of this,' Sasuke said. He began to read whatever was written. Kankuro was really at the verge of laughing. It was strange to see someone to read a blank scroll. Suddenly, when Sasuke was reading the bottom of the page, he dropped it. He was totally stiff and it was almost as though he was not breathing.

'Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?' Sakura asked, speaking for the first time after quite a while. But Sasuke still didn't even move. The other three began to get worried.

'Hey man, are you okay?' Kankuro asked, walking forward and putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. In a flash of a second, he had backed into the wall way behind him. He was clutching his hand as though it had been burnt.

'What happened?' Temari asked. Her voice was shaking in tension.

'He's burning!' Kankuro shouted in panic. Sure enough, there was smoke rising into the air from Sasuke. At last, he turned around. They saw that his whole hand was looking as if it had burnt. Not only his hand, his whole body was like that there were huge abnormal amounts of heat radiating from him.

'What's happening to him?' Temari asked in an unnaturally high voice.

'Both of you, get back into the tunnel now!' Kankuro shouted. But next moment, it had all stopped. Sasuke's skin and heat returned to normal. He turned around and opened his eyes.

Kankuro once again backed away. Somehow he knew that something was totally wrong. Sasuke's expression was not at all like the one that could be remembered. His face was an exact copy of Itachi's. Somehow, he had obtained the Mangekyou Sharingan. His expression was calm and not bothered about the ruckus the two Bijuu were still creating outside.

'Are you okay?' Kankuro asked again.

'Yes,' Sasuke replied. His voice too had changed and was almost exactly like Itachi's.

'What in the world happened to you?' Kankuro asked. He walked forward.

'At last I understood how Itachi became so poweful. It was because he had read these scrolls and awakened the Uchiha power inside of him. But it seems he had not managed to awaken one particular part of the power. But I have, and now it is time we put an end to the Kyuubi,' Sasuke said in the same calm, untroubled voice.

'That awakening must have turned you nuts. What do you think we have been trying all this time?' Kankuro said.

'That awakening is what will help me do it. If you awaken all the five different powers in an Uchiha, he will be the strongest in the world, but at a cost: when he uses the last power, he will die,' Sasuke said. 'But I hope that I can avoid that. Now, let's go.'

'Not so fast, little brother,' a known voice said from the door. Itachi was standing there. Sasuke turned and faced him calmly.

'What do you want? You must have realized by now that i _am_ going to kill you?' Sasuke said as though it was planned that Itachi should turn up there.

'Kill me? You must be out of your mind. Of all the people, _you_ definitely cannot kill me.'

'We shall see about that. But first, I have to deal with something else. So get out of my way,' Sasuke said and lifted his hand, spread his fingers and pushed his palm against the air as though there was a wall there. Next second, Itachi was blasted backward by a force and speed not less than that of an aeroplane. But only then Sasuke noticed that Sakura, Kankuro and Temari were missing. Just then, Itachi's voice rang around in the room as though there were speakers.

'That is why you cannot kill me, Sasuke. You might have obtained all five powers, but your brain is just as foolish as it was when you joined the Academy. That is where your weakness lies. You do not need that power to kill me. You just need the brains, which you certainly lack. If you want to see your friends again, seal up the Kyuubi and Ichibi and bring the Jinchuuriki to me at the border of the Fire Country by tomorrow evening,' Itachi's voice said and stopped, leaving echoes of "evening".

Sasuke had no choice now. He fell to the floor, wondering _how _he could have been so stupid. Itachi sent a clone and came down behind it, kidnapped the three of them right in front of him and disappeared. And he didn't notice that? It looks like Itachi was right ... but first thing was first. He had to stop the Kyuubi and Shukaku before it destroyed the whole village.

He walked along the tunnel to find the exit caved in again. But he blasted through it as eaisily as walking through a doorless exit. When he reached outside, he found everything calm. There was no storm, no wind, no noise, no Kyuubi, no Shukaku ... evrything was spookily silent and still ...

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A/N: temme how it was ... i'm gettin a hunch that this chap wasn't all that good ... or sensible. review anyway

Kai Hiwatari II


	9. Unbelievable happenings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its awesome characters.

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Sorry pple!!! Long time no update but I've just realized how troublesome high school is …. Its been ages since I last wrote and I'd forgotten where I'd left off ….. Well here's one of the last chapters …. Hope u like it. Review plz.

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**Unbelievable happenings**

Everything was eerily silent and still. Sasuke did not move from that spot. He had no idea where Itachi was ... but he couldn't just sit there, he had to find everyone and bring them back safely. Also, he did not know where the Kyuubi and Shukaku and Naruto and Gaara were. He looked in the direction where the hospital was just hours before ... there was nothing there now. In fact, the only thing that was still whole was the Hokage Monument.

There was no sign of life anywhere. Then, Sasuke stood up suddenly and looked around. Then he looked at the sky. It was inky blue and there were no stars or moon. Also there weren't any clouds. Then he slowly realized. He was stupid not to have thought of it before. It was just Genjutsu. He put his hands together and tried canceling it, but he was not successful. So this was no ordinary Genjutsu. Then Itachi's voice rang out suddenly through the air as though Sasuke was in a tunnel.

'You really are foolish, little brother. At least you have realized that this is genjutsu. You can keep trying to cancel it for all you like, but mind you that it will not bring any other result than the fact that you will die of exhaustion. It would be better for you to just stay still until my work here is done. Then I need not waste any more energy on you. It is your choice.'

'How do you know that I can't escape this genjutsu?' Sasuke asked the air, but he got an answer.

'I have already told you. You do not know the nature of this genjutsu. You must know the cause of something before you can get rid of it. Likewise, you cannot cancel this genjutsu. This is something only I know and only I can resist this, if ever used upon me, though that is unlikely as I am also the only one who can use this, as I am the sole inventor of this jutsu. Now just shut up and sit quietly if you want to see the real world again,' Itachi's voice said and stopped, leaving nothing but echoes. Sasuke fell back onto the ground. Itachi was right, how could he get rid of something he did not know? But then, what he had read in the scroll all came back to him...

'You're right, I don't know its nature, but you too don't know the nature of the jutsu I am about to use on you. I'll take pity and give you just one chance, get lost or get killed,' Sasuke said.

'Actually, calling you foolish would insult a fool, Sasuke. Just because you have read the Scroll of the Uchihas, don't get too cocky. I too have read the scroll, and it contains nothing of much importance to me. Whatever you use from the scroll, it will have no effect on me. Did you possibly think that I killed the Uchihas for nothing?' Itachi's voice rang out. 'You have no reason to take pity on me. I have all the reasons in the world to take pity on _you_, Sasuke. I will leave you now; there is no reason anymore to hold you here. My job is done.'

And after that, the sounds of the night came back into Sasuke's ear and the starts and clouds returned to the sky. Sasuke began to get a little tense now. What did he mean by his job was done? Did that mean that he had got hold of the Kyuubi? Sasuke looked around and saw only sights of total destruction. There was no Kyuubi or Shukaku. Trails of blood could be seen glistening in the moon's light. But this time, Sasuke could make out that it was real and not a Genjutsu. He decided to follow the blood trails and went running along it. He found himself being led to the river where Jiraiya had sealed the Kyuubi once more. He suddenly stopped, remembering that. If Jiraiya had really performed the Shikifuujin, then how could the Kyuubi escape again so easily?

That meant that either Jiraiya had faked it and was hiding or that somebody had kidnapped him. But there was no time to investigate that now … Sasuke had to catch up to Itachi. He started running along the blood trails again. The trails went across the bridge over the river, which Sasuke faintly remembered had fallen into the river. He ran through the forests on the outskirts of Konoha. Then, he heard a rustling in a right next to him. He jumped backwards and pulled out his kunai. Then, out of the bush came a large, thick snake and flew towards Sasuke like an arrow. Sasuke reacted just in time and dodged it, but it landed just behind him and pounced on him, holding him in its coils. He tried to move kunai towards the snake's body but it tightened its hold on him. Then came a familiar laughing voice …

'You are weaker than I expected, Sasuke-kun,' said the voice.

'You!' Sasuke said.

'Yes, me,' the voice said calmly.

'What do you want? Let me go!' Sasuke said.

'I cannot let you go, Sasuke-kun, because what I want is you.'

'But even with him, you cannot accomplish your task, Orochimaru,' said another voice from behind Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't turn around to see who it was. But Sasuke could feel the Orochimaru stiffen in the bushes.

'And why is that, Itachi?' Orochimaru's voice said. Sasuke notice that it shook a little bit.

'That is because our task is complete. Akatsuki has managed to gather all of the nine Bijuu. Now, Akatsuki has a new goal: to kill all those who dared to leave it,' Itachi said.

'You think that it is easy to kill me so easily? Do you even know of what I have been developing over the years? Do you know why I wanted Sasuke-kun in the first place?' Orochimaru said, sounding half as though he was mocking Itachi and half as if he was wishing desperately that Itachi would just disappear.

'Of course I do, but even you know the truth. Nobody can be immortal. They can just extend their lives by a few years. I suggest you stop wasting your time trying to make yourself immortal. It is impossible. Instead, you can use that time for completing the reason why you want to be immortal.'

'Why is it impossible? If you keep extending your life forever, you are as good as immortal aren't you?' Orochimaru said.

'Of course not. You can still be killed anytime; like I am going to kill you now,' Itachi said.

'Well, it looks like I can't leave this place without a fight,' Orochimaru said.

'You won't leave from here even with a fight,' Itachi said.

'We'll see about that,' Orochimaru said. The snake binding Sasuke suddenly let him go and darted towards Itachi who didn't even flinch. He just gave the snake one piercing look and it suddenly burst into black flames and disappeared. Then, Orochimaru gave a weird laugh and from nowhere, brought a sword into his hand.

'I'm telling you, it is of no use. You might as well die in peace,' Itachi said. Orochimaru took no notice and just shot towards Itachi with the sword held in front of him. Itachi didn't even move. The sword went straight through his chest. But not one drop of blood fell. He just disappeared in a puff of smoke and Orochimaru was sent flying. But he landed on his feet and readied himself once more. Once again the same thing happened. This time, Orochimaru didn't prepare himself for another attack. Instead he just dropped his sword and stood still. His eyes suddenly began to gleam.

'What do you think you are trying to do?' Itachi said. At lightening speed, Itachi performed a hand seal and put his palms on the ground. The earth rumbled and a huge hole opened in between Orochimaru and Itachi. Heat rose up from the hole, from which a great yellow-red light was coming as though there was hot, boiling lava inside. Orochimaru looked inside it as though he was dreading something might come out of it that can kill him. The gleam in his eyes disappeared. He suddenly just seemed to let go, as though he surrendered. Then, out of the hole, a pair of skeleton hands stretched out of took hold of Orochimaru's feet. Orochimaru just looked at the hands and gave a weak smile.

'It looks like I underestimated you, Itachi. You have grown so much more powerful, that now, when I look at you properly, I don't actually recognize you,' Orochimaru said, as he was slowly dragged into the hole. Itachi just watched Orochimaru being dragged into the hole without moving. The earth suddenly shook again and hot, boiling, water-like lava erupted from the hole and Orochimaru disappeared. The hole opening caved in and left steaming lava all around. Itachi just turned around without looking at Sasuke, who was rooted to the spot, walked away as though he had just come to say hello.

Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes. What was so great in that hole? Why did Orochimaru give up so easily? After all, it was just hole in the earth and some skeletons in there. He had never seen anyone so powerful give up so easily. Or maybe this was something Sasuke didn't know anything about.

With all this, Sasuke had completely forgotten about why he had come here in the first place. Then, his brain caught up to him. He ran down the path Itachi had just gone. But when he could see further, he saw that he was no more there. He ran back and looked for the trail of blood he had been following, but he didn't find that either. That small earthquake had loosened the soil so now the trail was not visible anymore. Sasuke just turned around and suddenly felt as though a hole was being drilled through him. Next moment, he was quite high in the air and landed twenty feet from where he started. He tried to get up again but couldn't move. His body was paralyzed and felt as though he had no insides. But there was no sign of the person who had attacked Sasuke. But then, the earth shook a little once more and he heard a shout in the distance: 'Edo Tensei!'

Wait … he had heard that somewhere before. It was the forbidden summoning technique to revive the dead. Did that mean that somebody had come back to revive Orochimaru?

Then suddenly, Sasuke felt alright again. He stood up and looked around for the cause of this sudden re-energizing. At once, he saw Tsunade standing in the middle of the path behind him. She looked as good as new, as though she had not been fighting and as though she had not suddenly disappeared.

'You! Where were you? And why did you attack Sakura and Shizune?' he asked.

'I did not attack anybody on my own will. Shizune, Sakura and I were on the way to what we originally set out to do. But we met Orochimaru on the way. Before I could even react, he put me under a jutsu. I was conscious of myself, but could not control my body. That's how I attacked Shizune and Sakura. Then Orochimaru left, leaving me lying in the forest, as good as a dead body. But now, suddenly the jutsu wore off and I was able to control myself once again,' she said.

'That's mostly because Orochimaru is dead,' Sasuke said.

'I thought so. It must have been Itachi, because among all the people I know quite well, Itachi is the only one strong enough to kill him,' Tsunade said. 'But there might be plenty more people who can kill Orochimaru.'

'No, it was Itachi. I tried catching up to him but he just disappeared. But now we urgently need to find Naruto. Itachi said that Akatsuki's task was complete. That means that they have succeeded in finding all the Bijuu doesn't it?' Sasuke asked.

'It does. But I'm quite sure of Akatsuki's hideout from all the information Jiraiya gave me. Come on, let's go.' Tsunade ran off, Sasuke following her.

A/N: well, I hope it was good … I've begun to doubt my story writing … I feel as though its becoming a little vague n stuff … maybe it is I dunno … I'll do my best with the rest of the chapters but I'm not as confident as I was before … plz review

Kai Hiwatari II


	10. One Step Closer

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

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**One Step Closer**

Sasuke followed Tsunade. They were no longer following the pathway, but were going through dense jungle where anything could attack them at any moment. But luckily for them, they soon reached open area without any trouble. As they were crossing an open field, Tsunade suddenly stopped without warning, and Sasuke, in his haste to avoid getting in front of her, made enough noise for anybody within a mile around to hear, which was quite undesirable at the moment.

'What's up?' Sasuke asked her.

'There're some people up ahead,' she replied. Sasuke listened for the tiniest noise his ears could catch. He heard that awfully familiar voice. It was Itachi who was up ahead. He could just catch what they were saying.

'I say, Itachi-san, are you really sure that this is gonna work out?' another voice which Sasuke recognized as Kisame's said.

'If everything goes according to plan, which undoubtedly at the moment has not gone so. Our plans for Naruto-kun were for later, but unfortunately we have been forced to take care of him before the others,' Itachi was saying. Their voices were getting fainter. Obviously they were walking. Tsunade motioned Sasuke to follow slowly.

'That's exactly why I'm asking you. And are you sure that we've hidden that brat well enough?'

'Of course. There is nobody but an Uchiha who can enter that place, but my little brother has no idea how to get in. That place was mainly used by our clan leaders to protect the clan elders in case of an attack. But before Sasuke was old enough to know of it there was no clan at all.'

'Very well but for some reason I'm feeling quite uneasy about this business.'

'That is because we have some troublesome pests on our tail.' Itachi said, and without warning, Itachi was right in front of Tsunade, who was blown off her feet. Sasuke tried to rush towards her, but the earth suddenly seemed to get a life of its own as it formed a gigantic cage around Tsunade, trapping her inside.

'You just don't know when to give up do you?' Itachi said from behind Sasuke. There was something different in his voice. A real hatred, as though he totally despised Sasuke.

'Shut up,' Sasuke said. 'I've had enough of you.'

'Same here. But unfortunately for you, there's nothing you'll ever be able to do about it. My advice to you is just turn around and go back home. But it doesn't bother me to be the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan either,' Itachi said.

'I said SHUT UP!' Sasuke yelled and charged madly towards Itachi. But next second he stopped. He felt as though there were knives cutting on all the bones in his body. Next there was a screeching sound in his brain, which felt as though there was someone in his head making the sound. All that he knew next was total darkness. He didn't know whether he was dead or alive, but it didn't matter, there was nothing he could do about it now … he could here some familiar voice calling his name, but he couldn't respond … the voice grew fainter and fainter … and at last disappeared …

He knew he was dead … he couldn't feel the earth anymore … he was of no use in the end … he did not get his revenge nor was he able to save his friends. But then, suddenly there was something glittering in front of him … what was it?

Then, as though somebody had slapped him in the face, all the feeling came back into his body. He jerked his eyes open and looked around. He was lying in the very same field where he had just fought Itachi. But it was not night anymore, it was daytime and the sun was shining brightly up in the sky for the first time in about a month. He had to shield his eyes from the sun's rays, as he had not seen them for so long. His eyes began to water as he sat up, and he took almost a minute to get used to it. He looked around. Everything was so bright and cheerful that it was almost as though nothing sad had happened. He suddenly remembered that Tsunade had been with him. He searched for her but there was no sign of her, not even of the cage like thing that Itachi had made out of the earth.

Then, suddenly everything came over him again. He had failed for the second time in such a small space of time to avenge himself and to find Naruto. But wait, Itachi had said something about a place only an Uchiha could enter, someplace to protect the elders in case of an attack. That meant only one thing: it had to be in the Uchiha village. But where? He knew only one hiding place in that village that was designed by the clan for protection. But now that place was in rubbles, since that was the place where the Kyuubi and Shukaku had had their fight. But he couldn't do nothing. He decided that he'd go to the village and see if he could find Itachi. The chances were against him but he had to try. He set off back in the direction of the village. Once he got there, he saw that there wasn't even rubble, there was just plain dust.

'Great …' Sasuke murmured to himself. He went looking around. If it was here then it still had to be intact, because Itachi had said that Naruto was there at the moment. He went looking around for an hour and was forced to admit that it couldn't be here. He drifted off out of the village once more. He placed himself on a rock next to the very bridge where Jiraiya had performed the Fuuinjutsu. He looked down at the river. The last time he saw it, it was full of blood … but wait a second, where had all that blood come from? His heart beating fast again, Sasuke got up and set off along the bank of the river. As he went up the river, another realization came crashing over him: a tributary that used to pass through the Uchiha village joined this river, in fact, that was the place where he had learnt his first Uchiha jutsu. He increased his speed and half-ran, half-walked up the river. He walked for nearly fifteen minutes until he reached a branch. There was a small island in the middle separating the tributary from the main river. He was slightly disappointed when he saw that the tributary had completely dried up. But as he got closer, he saw that the soil on the riverbed was stained with something dark red in colour. At once it became obvious to him that he was right: the blood that night _had_ been coming from the Uchiha village, or near it. He set off along it and again kept walking for nearly fifteen minutes until he found his way blocked. The trees on either side of the tributary had been thrown in the form of a large barricade across the river. He could see small trickles of red liquid leaking through the gap between the trees. Sasuke walked straight up to it and started climbing it. The trees shook slightly under his weight but the stood solid. Only as he was climbing it did he realize how high it was. Soon, he was on top of it and looked beyond it and let out an involuntary gasp.

The barricade was acting like a dam to what seemed to be a vast sea. He could see the pool of blood stretching for kilometers together. Where did so much blood come from? It was impossible that there could be so much blood even if all the people in Konoha shed their blood till they shriveled up. And how was he supposed to get across this now? Then, almost instantly he realized his stupidity. Slowly he climbed down the other side of the barricade and stood on top of the sea of blood. He set off towards the horizon till he could see something. He felt slightly sick, walking on top of the blood like this. He kept going for what seemed like hours, maybe years. Then, a loud, cold voice rang out through the air.

'You are really more foolish than I thought, Sasuke. Haven't you realized yet?' Sasuke whipped around, looking for the source of the noise.

'Realised what? That you are a fool who—'

'Enough of this nonsense. You'll go no further. You have already discovered too much, little brother. Why don't you just go back? You keep going on, Sasuke, then the thing that awaits you is death,' Itachi's voice interrupted.

'So what?' bellowed Sasuke, losing his temper. 'I've had enough of your stinking rubbish for the last few months! Why don't you just shut up and back off? What's your problem anyway, coming and disrupting our lives like this?'

'Oh my, I seemed to have touched a nerve. How touching, little brother, but unfortunately these things are far beyond what your mudane brain can understand.'

'Maybe it is! But even it can understand one thing for sure!' Sasuke yelled. 'You're a filthy, stinking coward who hides from his younger brother because of the guilt of killing the whole clan! You're the worst person I've ever known and I feel like killing myself for being related to you coward!'

'Enough. _Enough._ You go too far. If you really feel like killing yourself then you'd better do it. Better than facing what you will face if keep moving forward,' said Itachi, his voice devoid of all the sneer that had been playing in it all this time.

'I won't go back! I've lost everything because of you! If I can kill you, then I'll—'

'Enough chat. Will you go quietly or will it have to come down to force?'

'Quietly? I'm sure I wouldn't even in the best of your dreams. Come out and face me you cow—' but Sasuke never finished the sentence. There was a colossal explosion and Sasuke sunk below the surface of the blood pool. He felt the blood around him solidifying in a sphere and before he even gasp, the blood around him had formed a sphere, trapping him in there and it slowly rose above the surface of the blood and rose high into the air. Sasuke brought his fingers together but he couldn't feel any Chakra …

'Goodbye, Sasuke.' Sasuke looked around desperately and saw Itachi standing in mid air, without any kind of support. He looked into his eyes and found them sharp and piercing in his own. Itachi raised a single finger and the sphere of blood slowly began to close in around Sasuke, who struggled with all his might to break free. But the crushing wall was as solid as iron but yet it looked exactly like a liquid sphere.

Suddenly, a jagged, white light shot through the sphere. It didn't affect Sasuke but, the sphere was broken. The blood crashed down into the rest of the pool below, but Sasuke was still in mid air. He looked around for his saviour and to his enormous surprise, Kakashi was standing of top of the barricade, looking coolly intimidating as though this was a friendly chat between two old friends.

'Your game's up, Itachi,' he said.

'That's what you think. You were foolish to come here today, Kakashi. You know very well that I am not in one of my best moods.' He raised his hands together to form a seal. Sasuke suddenly flew backwards as though somebody had yanked him from behind. He went crashing down behind the barricade. He just saw Kakashi fly forwards, hands performing the fastest set of seals Sasuke had seen yet. There was another huge explosion and the barricade collapsed. Sasuke reacted just in time to jump over all the crashing trees and forward. The sea of blood started flowing. Meanwhile, a great red blood-dragon had risen from it and started forwards towards Itachi who didn't even move. He looked up straight into the dragon's eyes and it exploded, showering them all with blood. Itachi alone remained dry. Kakashi shouted something Sasuke didn't hear all the blood flowing backwards rose up into the air and started flowing with great velocity towards Itachi, who joined his hand together and stretched his left hand forward. The blood flowing towards him was deflected as though there was an invisible barrier there. Meanwhile, his right hand had formed another seal. The earth trembled and Sasuke lost his balance and went splashing down into the bloody depths. The blood had stopped flowing once more. He looked up at the red sky and saw Kakashi fall down into the blood as well. But in a puff of smoke, he disappeared and at the same time, out of thin air, Kakashi appeared and flew straight towards Itachi. As he neared him, a hundred more Kakashis appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. Even as Sasuke watched, running out of oxygen, another hundred of them appeared, forming a Kakashi dome around Itachi, whose expression couldn't be seen through the Kakashis. All of them performed the same seal and there was a massive explosion. Sasuke could actually see waves emanting through the air until they hit the blood itself and all the blood splashed out of its way and Sasuke, gulping in oxygen, was able to stand once more, his brain suddenly clearer than it had been all week. Something came back to him from the scrolls … '_… and at the moment the sun strikes the horizon will come the new beginning …_' he looked up; the sun was setting. Now was the time …

Sasuke bit his finger and blood started trickling down the finger. 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!' a huge snake suddenly reared up from the sea below, sending the liquid flying everywhere. Sasuke leapt on top of its head just in time to see Itachi emerge from the depths below, covered in blood spilt by himself too. He had a nasty gash across his cheek and his cloak with the cloud design was ripped apart. He looked up at the giant snake and Sasuke on top with the slightest of apprehension.

Sasuke closed his eyes and waited, his fingers interlocked. Then he felt it and saw it too. The sun just touched the horizon. A great wave of burning energy swept through Sasuke's body. The pain was unbearable … yet he had to bear it, only for a few moments. The earth started trembling again and with a great splashing, two gigantic figures emerged from the sea of liquid and rose high into the air. The Kyuubi and Shukaku fell forwards towards the suddenly tiny looking Itachi looking utterly bemused at all these happenings and the gigantic snake to lurched forwards, creating great ripples in the sea of blood. The three creatures met, and at the center, Itachi with his eyes closed and arms stretched out in front of him. There was yet another ear-blasting explosion from the center and a bright, glowing light and burning heat radiating from Itachi. Finally, with the hugest of all explosions, the snake, the Kyuubi and Shukaku were thrown backwards and all of them disappeared into thin air, leaving three figures to fall into unlimited depths of the blood below.

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**A/N: **hey ppl!! Long time no update …. I know …. I've missed writing for so long but I just haven't been getting the time!! But I still swear that I'll update whenevr I can!!! This chap might seem senseless, but I promise that I'll do my best to make you understand bfore this story ends!! Hope 2 cya soon!!

-Kai Hiwatari II


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